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Centene (NYSE:CNC) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

Centene (NYSE:CNC) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

Centene(纽约证券交易所代码:CNC)似乎非常明智地使用债务
Simply Wall St ·  05/21 21:44

Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We note that Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

有人说,波动性,而不是债务,是投资者思考风险的最佳方式,但沃伦·巴菲特曾说过一句名言:“波动性远非风险的代名词。”当我们思考一家公司的风险有多大时,我们总是喜欢考虑其债务的用途,因为债务过载可能导致破产。我们注意到,Centene公司(纽约证券交易所代码:CNC)的资产负债表上确实有债务。但更重要的问题是:这笔债务会带来多大的风险?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

债务何时危险?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

一般而言,只有当公司无法通过筹集资金或利用自己的现金流轻松偿还债务时,债务才会成为真正的问题。在最坏的情况下,如果一家公司无法向债权人付款,它可能会破产。但是,更常见(但仍然令人痛苦)的情况是,它必须以低廉的价格筹集新的股权资本,从而永久稀释股东。但是,通过取代稀释,对于需要资本以高回报率投资增长的企业来说,债务可能是一个非常好的工具。当我们检查债务水平时,我们首先要同时考虑现金和债务水平。

What Is Centene's Debt?

Centene's Debt 是什么?

As you can see below, Centene had US$18.0b of debt, at March 2024, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. But on the other hand it also has US$19.7b in cash, leading to a US$1.67b net cash position.

如下所示,截至2024年3月,Centene的债务为180亿美元,与前一年大致相同。您可以单击图表以获取更多详细信息。但另一方面,它也有197亿美元的现金,净现金状况为16.7亿美元。

debt-equity-history-analysis
NYSE:CNC Debt to Equity History May 21st 2024
纽约证券交易所:CNC债券与股本的比率历史记录 2024年5月21日

A Look At Centene's Liabilities

看看 Centene 的负债

The latest balance sheet data shows that Centene had liabilities of US$32.8b due within a year, and liabilities of US$22.8b falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$19.7b as well as receivables valued at US$16.8b due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$19.1b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

最新的资产负债表数据显示,Centene的负债为328亿美元,此后到期的负债为228亿美元。除这些债务外,它有197亿美元的现金以及价值168亿美元的应收账款在12个月内到期。因此,它的负债总额比其现金和短期应收账款的总和多出191亿美元。

This deficit isn't so bad because Centene is worth a massive US$41.7b, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up its balance sheet, if the need arose. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk. Despite its noteworthy liabilities, Centene boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

这种赤字还不错,因为Centene的市值高达417亿美元,因此,如果有需要,可能会筹集足够的资金来支撑其资产负债表。但是,我们绝对希望留意其债务带来过大风险的迹象。尽管负债值得关注,但Centene拥有净现金,因此可以公平地说,它没有沉重的债务负担!

The good news is that Centene has increased its EBIT by 7.6% over twelve months, which should ease any concerns about debt repayment. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Centene can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

好消息是,Centene在十二个月内将其息税前利润增长了7.6%,这应该可以缓解对债务偿还的任何担忧。资产负债表显然是分析债务时需要关注的领域。但最终,该业务未来的盈利能力将决定Centene能否随着时间的推移加强其资产负债表。因此,如果您专注于未来,可以查看这份显示分析师利润预测的免费报告。

Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. Centene may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. Happily for any shareholders, Centene actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. That sort of strong cash conversion gets us as excited as the crowd when the beat drops at a Daft Punk concert.

最后,企业需要自由现金流来偿还债务;会计利润根本无法减少债务。Centene的资产负债表上可能有净现金,但研究该企业将其利息税前收益(EBIT)转换为自由现金流的效果仍然很有趣,因为这将影响其对债务的需求和管理能力。令所有股东感到高兴的是,在过去三年中,Centene产生的自由现金流实际上超过了息税前利润。当Daft Punk音乐会的节拍下降时,这种强劲的现金转换让我们和观众一样兴奋。

Summing Up

总结

Although Centene's balance sheet isn't particularly strong, due to the total liabilities, it is clearly positive to see that it has net cash of US$1.67b. And it impressed us with free cash flow of US$2.6b, being 117% of its EBIT. So we don't have any problem with Centene's use of debt. Of course, we wouldn't say no to the extra confidence that we'd gain if we knew that Centene insiders have been buying shares: if you're on the same wavelength, you can find out if insiders are buying by clicking this link.

尽管由于负债总额,Centene的资产负债表并不是特别强劲,但其净现金为16.7亿美元,显然是乐观的。它以26亿美元的自由现金流给我们留下了深刻的印象,占其息税前利润的117%。因此,我们对Centene使用债务没有任何问题。当然,我们不会对如果我们知道Centene内部人士一直在购买股票所获得的额外信心说不:如果你持同样的看法,你可以通过点击这个链接来了解内部人士是否在买入。

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

当一切都说完之后,有时更容易将注意力集中在甚至不需要债务的公司上。读者现在可以100%免费访问净负债为零的成长型股票清单。

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Simply Wall St的这篇文章本质上是笼统的。我们仅使用公正的方法根据历史数据和分析师的预测提供评论,我们的文章无意作为财务建议。它不构成买入或卖出任何股票的建议,也没有考虑到您的目标或财务状况。我们的目标是为您提供由基本数据驱动的长期重点分析。请注意,我们的分析可能不考虑最新的价格敏感型公司公告或定性材料。简而言之,华尔街没有持有任何上述股票的头寸。

译文内容由第三方软件翻译。


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